What were you going to use the drawers for? Pots and pans? If so I would do 36"

One thing too is if you think they are too big later as far as stuff moving around you could always add a divider into it. I'd rather have the larger size than a smaller if you have the space. What else would you do with the extra space?

36" drawers aren't too big- it sounds like your layout is pretty well-balanced. What do you plan to put into the big drawers? Do you have LOTS of pots and pans and bowls, etc?

One option could be to keep the first 36" bank (beside the pantry), and then make the next two 30" drawers- (assuming your plug for the fridge and your uppers can accomodate that change. But, really, it won't be a 'mistake' to have a big drawer- in some of the finished kitchens I've seen really neat dividers using a pegboard system on the bottom of the drawer and wooden 'spools' to hold the pots, dishes, etc, in place.

For heaven's sakes, you'll have lots to panic about- relax about this one!!! :>)

Rae

36" is nice. You won't regret it.

And, I'm sure you've thought hard about this, but are you absolutely positive you can get all the food in that fridge you need? :)

Yes, I will use the drawers for pots and pans, cooking utensils and spices on one side. The other side I will still need some room for pots but I was also thinking I would like a bread drawer maybe divided with an onion/potatoe drawer.
I think with the extra space I would do a 30"w drawer and then a 6" pull out. But I like the nice clean look to the 36".
I realize that when I say "panic" it is not really over the width of the drawers, just the final commitment to the whole project! But I am very excited.
As for the 30" refrigerator, I could not wait another minute to get rid of my old one so I bought the new Liebherr 2 weeks ago. LOVE IT. I know it is only 30" but it is 80" tall and the space is so fuctional. For Thanksgiving it fit a 24lbs turkey, two dishes of sweet pototoes, and extra side dishes ( and lots of wine ) with no problem. Thanks again.

Be excited, not panicky! It'll be fine. And like others said, you can subdivide the drawer if you really want to later on. With modern drawer glides, you can open a 36 incher as easily as a 6" spice pullout. And half (or more) of a 36" drawer for spices is probably easier to use than a tall skinny pullout anyway.

(I loved that fridge but we just couldn't make it work with our shopping style and my height...I think it's absolutely the most fabulous fridge out there if you can fit your stuff in it!)

I like larger rather than smaller. What style is your kitchen? Modern, traditional, contemporary, etc? This has an effect on the size of the drawers you can use. I like the balance of cabinets beside the stove. If you can, read a contemporary or modern kitchen, can you go with larger cabinets? Maybe 42"? Balance two 42" cabinets, and insert a 6" pullout for trays and make the pantries 18"? I don't know if you are interested in such changes but it was just an idea. A clarification though, does the Liebherr end a cabinet run? It looks from the way your wrote it, that the Liebherr comes before the 24" cabinet? Also, do you have a place to store brooms, mops, etc? Also, what size hood are you using on the Bluestar range?

Good luck!

My kitchen will be rather unusual int he sense I am using all reclaimed barnwood for the cabinet fronts. My home is very early American. I am trying to make the wall a contemporary look with ebony stained quarter sawn oak, slab drawers and cabinets, stainless steal counter tops. The island will be barnwood pine with it's natural finish and a concrete top, (haven't settled on the color). I am also doing a 72 x 24 inlay/hangover of the oak on the island for seating.
The Liebherr 30" comes before the 24" cabinet on the left. I am not planning on upper cabinets on either side of the range, although I may add them as I go. Oh and I am using a 36" Independent Incline hood over the range. I know there has been threads about a 36 or 42" but I've been told that the 1200 will be plenty of pull since I rarely will have all 6 burners on. Thanks!

Mackswim,
Your kitchen sounds like it is going to be a trend setter:-) Why don't you have a straight run of counter and then the fridge? There has got to be a reason. The 42" hood is not really about power but more about capture area. A larger capture area allows the hood to work more efficiently and fewer odors to escape. A 36" hood is fine too thought. I don't like wall cabs myself but will put them on the wall next to the hood. I have a kitchen that I am working on a design for and it sounds similar to yours. The winning design this week is a 15' linear wall with a fridge, 60" cooktop and oven cabinet on it and a 10' x 5' island with the sink. Another wall will be 5' long for a breakfast/coffee bar and a 24" wide and deep pull out pantry behind it. I have been addressing the issue of balance of cabinets. I have visited so many showrooms over the last month and I love the 42" - 48" drawers. They are extremely functional, suprisingly.

Good luck with your design!

Sounds like your plan is coming along great! I'll have to check out the 42"-48" drawers. I don't think I have seen those anywhere yet! Here I was thinking the 36"w might be too big until you all said to go for it.
The reason I have the 24" w counter on the other side of the refrige is that I suspect it will be a "drop off" place b/c it is near the entry into the house. It will also be the coffee area. I also worry that the frige would be too much on its own at the end. I'll take another look though. Thanks again!

I'm putting a landing zone/coffee area on the far side of my fridge as well. Seems like a worthwhile use of space because it'll contain a mess that we always end up having. (It'll also enable us to see around the corner a bit better which is an issue in my space.)

Will your fridge be integrated or stainless? If integrated, I don't think it'll be too much at the end--in fact, it'll probably look perfect with the pantry on the other side. No need for crazy symmetry, but it'll sort of enclose the cooking area in a logical-feeling kind of way. Actually, even in stainless, it'll work. The stainless will be very soft with the other things you have planned and it's not an imposing fridge. I think you can go either way.

I guess I am the lone dissenter, but I would not opt for the bigger drawers. I wouldn't want to be opening a 36 incher every time I wanted to get at my spices. I would choose smaller separate drawers over larger ones that needed dividers, but I guess it really boils down to what is going into them.

One thing you might want to reconsider is your pantry size. I was disappointed in my pullouts and if I could do it over I would probably do something different. You need to realize that you will not get a full 30" of storage there. Each shelf costs you a few inches in width in order to accomodate the track that it glides on. The shelf can be no wider than the door (not the cabinet) so that it can be pulled out. So perhaps you might consider doing the pantry at 36", and the next drawer stack at 30". I would definitely suggest you examine your particular cabinets pullout style in a showroom so you're sure of what you will get before delivery.

Good luck with your decisions- it seems they never end!

Suska6184,
I was concerned about openign and closing these large drawers too. I visited a local showroom that had several banks of 42" and 48" drawers. I spent a whole day cooking and doing normal stuff in these kitchens, and I am sold. They were light and easy to open, all of them had blumotion and they worked so smoothly. It also allowed all the utensils I use to be at easy view level without having to shuffle through a drawer. I tend to be very regimented in the order that I put things. I am a scientist by training and these are similar to drawers that I had in the labs except not as large. Most drawers in my lab used to be 36-39" wide. Also, love the large lab sinks for this reason. I throughly agree on the pull out pantry though. I found the 15" pantry rather small. The 18" pantry was much more useful and seemed to hold more stuff and more sizes.

Mackswim,
I think you should really consider some small and narrow cabinets next to the hood because of glassware storage. Regarding the drop zone, will there be a wall that boundaries the 24" drawer to the left? If so, I wonder if the liebherr would create a visual stop. Just a thought. I think you can use that 24" cabinet differently. Bringing the fridge to the end of the wall and making the pantries a little larger would be great. Also, you have this great open space next to the fridge and stove. Do you have space in your island for a 6" cabinet to store trays and chopping boards and the like? I don't know where you are located but I spent about a month going to different showrooms to envision myself using many of these systems before I decided on them. My construction process starts in April and we hope to be done in August. Getting all the design and decisions made early are really important to me. A suggestion I say in a magazine has to do with a tilting pull out pantry that would make it easier to see the contents of the pantry. I will have to find a link to that system.

Just some more ideas to complicate your decision making:-)
Good luck!

We have a very similar setup. We have a 36" pantry, 30" cabinet with under counter oven, 36" GE Monogram stove, 30" drawer, 36" Fridge and 27" drawer.

I really like our 36" pantry - it seems like the right size and store a lot of stuff. Also we have a 36" counter depth fridge which I find just a little small. My suggestion is if you have can to go for a larger fridge as well.

Hey homepro01-
What a coincidence that we are both scientists! I have worked in labs in many regions, since in our early years, DH was active duty military and we moved around. Lab work is a great teacher of efficient kitchen work, don't you think? Something kinda funny though, because of my lab experience, I just could not bring myself to put dark countertops and another stainless sink or frig into my home. I had to make a clear separation aesthetically!

Suska,
Interesting, peptide combinatorial chemistry for me, what was your area?. I don't mind the fridge being stainless but I don't really like the stainless sink either. In the laundry room, I am getting a fireclay rohl undermount. I am looking for a good idea like concrete for a large sink in the kitchen. I want it to be at least 36" wide. I don't mind paying for a custom one. I do draw the line at the fireslate or resistop counters:-) I have a few beakers and hdpe containers in the kitchen thought:-) I have not made a decision on countertops yet but there is a great draw to marble and jerusalem stone just because I love the beautiful gold and warm yellow color. I have an opportunity to use a different material on the perimeter wall, center island and on the coffee/beverage bar area! I really love marble:-) I also like pyrolave but I can't afford that. It's either that or a whole kitchen just for the price of the countertops:-)

Mackswim,
The pantry I was talking about is called a swing out pantry. I have included a link to the mechanism. I really like these. The issue I have had with the other pull out pantry is that there is only one way to look at the contents which is from the side. This allows me a full view from another profile.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swingout pantry

homepro,
clinical chemistry and microbiology is where I spend my time. Sounds like you are in the kitchen planning stage yet. Good luck with your choices, we are about 90% done, but with it being nearly total DIY, it's been a long haul. Life, kids, etc. happen along the way and it makes you sometimes wonder if it will EVER be done. Oh well, the plus side is that it's all paid for.

I think you all might be right about the 2 pull out pantries being too small. I am going to do some more looking, but I still want to keep it at 30". We don't tend to store much food b/c we have some great markets close by.
Hompro, check you Gore designs. They have some beautiful concrete counters and sinks and are very enviormentally friendly. Unfortunately they were too far away from me to make it worth the while so we are going to make our concrete countertops here! Our project is going to start next week!!

Mackswim,
Thanks for the eye candy. I am also considering concrete for my island because I don't want any seams. Another option about the pull out pantry. I went to the kitchen store this week and really played with the pull out pantries. I decided that for me, a door with pull out trays would be better. The pull out pantries do waste a lot of space. The one negative with the drawers is that you have to open a door and then pull it out. The other issue is that the trays are not easily adjustable like the pull out pantry is. The trays are also much cheaper than the pull out pantry.

Good luck!